Catholic social justice

Almost every corporation in America has abandoned the wisdom of ideological neutrality and converted to the pseudo-religion of progressivism. The cynical marketeers in the business world call it values marketing. Do not be fooled because values is just a sneaky euphemism for morality. For decades, we are told in America by the progressives that everyone’s morality was their own business. During the sexual revolution of the 1960s, How dare you force your morality on me… was one of their popular rallying cries. In those days, the individual had the right to believe, think and worship how they wanted because we lived in a nation founded on the principle of liberty: America. Although we shared a common culture, we had no state-imposed religion or state-imposed ideology. That is no longer the case in America and around the world as the governments, corporations and thought police close in on our remaining freedoms and never miss an opportunity to promulgate their cultural … [Read more...] about The Curse of Guilt-Ridden Boomers and Woke Millenials

One of the most important things to have when you’re thinking about games and their design is reference material. It’s one of the things that the Vague Patch Notes column in particular is meant to provide, an anchoring point where important issues can be brought up and memorialized so that in a year’s time I can ask myself “didn’t I talk about that before” and then just link back. It seems useful to me. Thus, the genesis of this particular article, which is about a discussion MOP’s Bree and I have had several dozen times by now without ever actually writing down in a format that can be used for callbacks. There’s a consistent attitude and acceptance of the idea that games with open PvP attempting to use the social penalty system aren’t really addressing the fundamental problems that open PvP brings to the table. However, I don’t think we’ve ever actually put forth the reasons why the social penalty system … [Read more...] about Vague Patch Notes: Why the social penalty for open PvP in MMOs never works

In all my years of covering Blizzard and World of Warcraft, I have never seen Blizzard fans so exasperated and disheartened than now. Gamers who emotionally invested themselves in their games over the years feel betrayed by Blizzard. Much like the bond Mac users have with Apple, there was always a sense of unwavering loyalty between Blizzard and their fans. The formerly unapologetic Blizzard created exceptional games to the beat of their own drum and timeline — and the fans rewarded them for it with undying devotion and adulation. Blizzard is in serious trouble. The overwhelmingly negative votes in a YouTube video for a new mount in World of Warcraft is an accurate barometer of the fans mood. Even the stock price of Activision/Blizzard has fallen by approximately 44% from its high in October 2018. The utter disgust that gamers have toward the new Blizzard and their tone-deaf avarice is staggering. One YouTube commenter has nailed the sentiment with a humorous parody of the … [Read more...] about New Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Doubles Down on Identity Politics

The Blizzard Entertainment we once knew and loved has vanished into the mists of time. Blizzard was once a shining city on a hill that stood out as a beacon of gamer-centric righteousness in the sleazy wasteland of the video game sausage factory. Blizzard’s extraordinary game development philosophy defied conventional wisdom. Blizzard did things their way. They didn’t care what anyone thought and their fans loved them for it. Today, the maverick Irvine-based gaming studio once known for its unwavering commitment to quality has been transformed by ambitious leadership that wants to turn Blizzard into the next Disney. But, there is a price to pay. To gain membership into this exclusive club you must be willing to sell your soul and conform to the obligatory leftist worldview that is held by most California-based entertainment and tech companies. For the last few years, the new Blizzard — Blizzard 2.0 — has proceeded to implement their part of the Faustian bargain. … [Read more...] about Blizzard Jumps on the Social Justice and Identity Politics Bandwagon

After years critiquing World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s recent decision to promote ideologies that are incompatible with the values and beliefs I hold dear, is a bridge too far for me to cross. As a result, I can no longer in good conscience continue to write articles about Blizzard Entertainment and their various video games. While I may include references to Blizzard or World of Warcraft in future articles, this will be my last piece that deals with them directly. I will also no longer purchase or play any product made by Blizzard or Activision. The final straw came for me in August of 2017, when Kotaku reported that a leaked email memo from Blizzard company president Mike Morhaime who described the launching of a “global diversity and inclusion initiative” which seeks to increase the representation of women and other minorities at Blizzard. The article goes on to detail Blizzard’s efforts to achieve this via various methods. As a person who has both worked … [Read more...] about Why I am Boycotting Blizzard Entertainment